Asian American theater includes broadway and avant-garde interesting pieces. It provides encouragement, training, and professional exposure to Asian Americans interested in theater and acting. They have usually been alienated from mainstream contemporary theater because of their cultural and social backgrounds, but recently have blossomed. During the 1850's operas, puppet shows, and acrobatic shows were shown in America from China, allowing the immense amount of Chinese laborers to reconnect with their culture. In 1882 the Asian Exclusion Act was passed and racial tensions made many Chinese citizens spread throughout the US, allowing them to disperse their communities. Professional opera houses opened in New York, Portland, Boston, and San Fransisco. Film took over most of the theater industry during the 1930s, but the plays still continued to show Asian related material, such as "The First Born", "Mikado", and "The King and I". The only downfall was that White people would play the leading roles and Asians would play maids, cooks, vamps, and spies. During the civil rights movement in 1965 Alberto Isaacs, Mako, and other Asian Americans created EWP (East West Players) as a way to showcase their pride in being ethnic. Plays showing the anger and stereotypes of Asians began surfacing, and later on Frank Chin made Asian American's first real production in NY called "Chickencoop Chinaman". Themes of the plays soon changed to Japanese internment camps during WWII and the growing cultural differences in Asian born immigrants and their Americanized children. David Henry Wang became known as being one of the few playwrights to gain noticeable success for his play "M. Butterfly". He battled the racial neglect of Asians and challenged the wrongful castings of Asian plays. Asian American theater continues to battle the racial tensions and stereotypes today.
Asian American theater includes broadway and avant-garde interesting pieces. It provides encouragement, training, and professional exposure to Asian Americans interested in theater and acting. They have usually been alienated from mainstream contemporary theater because of their cultural and social backgrounds, but recently have blossomed. During the 1850's operas, puppet shows, and acrobatic shows were shown in America from China, allowing the immense amount of Chinese laborers to reconnect with their culture. In 1882 the Asian Exclusion Act was passed and racial tensions made many Chinese citizens spread throughout the US, allowing them to disperse their communities. Professional opera houses opened in New York, Portland, Boston, and San Fransisco. Film took over most of the theater industry during the 1930s, but the plays still continued to show Asian related material, such as "The First Born", "Mikado", and "The King and I". The only downfall was that White people would play the leading roles and Asians would play maids, cooks, vamps, and spies. During the civil rights movement in 1965 Alberto Isaacs, Mako, and other Asian Americans created EWP (East West Players) as a way to showcase their pride in being ethnic. Plays showing the anger and stereotypes of Asians began surfacing, and later on Frank Chin made Asian American's first real production in NY called "Chickencoop Chinaman". Themes of the plays soon changed to Japanese internment camps during WWII and the growing cultural differences in Asian born immigrants and their Americanized children. David Henry Wang became known as being one of the few playwrights to gain noticeable success for his play "M. Butterfly". He battled the racial neglect of Asians and challenged the wrongful castings of Asian plays. Asian American theater continues to battle the racial tensions and stereotypes today.